I’ve been re-visiting the Superman universe of late, watching the various movies, TV shows, reading the comic books and graphic novels… “only” three quarters of a century of mythos (plus continuity snarls) to explore. Why? I dunno. Doesn’t really matter I suppose.
Anyhow – one of the things that comes up periodically is Clark/Superman/Kal-El getting it on with Lois Lane (or other human female, like Lana Lang). Now, there are two outcomes to this down the road. Either it is possible for offspring to happen, or it isn’t.
So… read the poll and vote. You may base your answer on logic, preference, or a coin toss. Your choice.
Personally, I’m in the “you can’t cross Kryptonian and Human” camp but I’m curious to see where everyone else is.
Putting aside that all humanoids in the universe seem able to breed with each other…and putting “Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex” WAY aside (Because it’s dumb*)…Kal-El is a genius level scientist. And knows many geniuses. He’d find a way.
*I do grant that it might be for the best if the child gestates under a red sun.
I’m going to assume that Kryptonians are an offshoot of Terrestial humans and are still sufficiently similar gene-wise to be able to reproduce. (Hell, if early Homo sapiens was able to interbreed with Neanderthals and possibly other protohumans, why not with Kryptonians? :dubious: )
I’ll further assume that any so-called “superpowers” they may have are due solely to environmental factors (higher gravity, different solar radiation, etc.) that they adapted to after being transplanted. These did not affect their ability to interbreed with other humans any more than different environmental factors could prevent, say, Inuits from interbreeding with Maoris.
My God, I’ve been watching too much Big Bang Theory! :smack:
Given that these stories take place in a super-hero universe, I’m going to assume that one of the incredibly advanced beings that we’ve seen had an early hand in the development of humanoid lifeforms on different planets. Presumably this ancient being gathered up humans from one planet (perhaps Earth) and distributed them all around the galaxy. This is the only reasonable explanation for why the inhabitants of so many different planets all look basically the same. So H. Sapiens and H. Kryptoniens (and H. Czarnians and H. Exorians and H. Korugari and H. Rann and H. Tamarani and H. Thanagari) can all crossbreed because they’re actually all the same species.
My preference as to an answer is not there - ‘Whichever the writers think is more interesting’, which could cover pretty much any of the possibilities.
And, in fact, has.
In the Silver Age, it was taken as a given - Laurel Kent’s original origin was being a distant descendant of Superman and Lois Lane, and Superman jr (along with Batman jr) appeared in a series of Imaginary Stories (which were later made semi-canon when they were listed as happening on an alternate Earth).
Post-Crisis, it was impossible - until Superboy’s origin was retconned and artificially combining Kryptonian and Human DNA was presented as a solution for the canonical impossibility of cloning Kryptonian DNA about a decade back. Though, even then, natural crossbreeding was impossible.
Post-Flashpoint it’s theoretically possible, though not without complications, as shown by the origins of the two Superboys (Jon is the son of Lois and Clark from an alternate timeline where they got together, Kon is a clone of Jon altered to stabilize the genetic issues Jon had - in order to cure Jon…his adopted father and Kon’s creator was kind of a jerk).
More likely the other way around (or, more likely still, they’re both offshoots of an older race, perhaps the Maltusians), though I don’t think any relation is ever implied (aside from extending from the ability to crossbreed) - nor between either species and Thanagarians, Rannians, etc. Kryptonians ARE related to Daxamites, and Humans in at least one version of continuity are the ancestors of Ymskians, Titanians, Braalians, and several of the other species which feature in Legion of Superheroes, though.
I think it’s dumb to think that Supes couldn’t control himself, as he does it all the time. I don’t think it’s dumb to think that it would put a serious damper on him, though. And since ejaculation is an involuntary response, he might not be able to control it as well as he can other things. Then again, I think he eventually showed the ability to control sneezing, which is also involuntary.
I think it Supes really wanted to let go, doing it on a red sun planet or otherwise depowered temporarily would be the best. It’s better than pairing him up with Wonder Woman, at least.
(Especially since it seems to depend on WW becoming much more powerful than she should be. She has to deflect bullets, for example; she can’t take them.)
Obviously, the reason for so many human-ish species on so many different planets is that once (a long, long time ago) some very advanced race of humanoids visited many planets in many galaxies and left some colonists who long since forgot their origins. Hence, all humanoid species can inter-breed. Heck, even Sinestro had a one-night fling with an earth woman, producing a rosy pink baby
I could swear…SWEAR…I’ve seen a scene where Superman tells Lois that it’s never going to happen with him emphasizing that he’s an ALIEN. He even implied that their parts don’t match up. Then he flies off and she crumples in a crying heap.
It would be some alternate universe stuff written by Millar or someone like that.
Or I’m just visualizing an Alan Moore interview. I dunno.
Despite being known as the Big Blue Boyscout Superman has been known to spout bald-faced lies if he feels it will protect people. So… presuming he did say such things, was that the truth or to “protect” Lois from a relationship that he believes would be hazardous to her?
IIRC there was one “What if” series with Zod or a similar military Kryptonian coming to Earth sans Kal-El being around and he was killing Earth women by having sex with them.
You’re talking about creatures that can accidentally leave a hand print in solid steel or burn down a building. Zod wouldn’t need to be a sexual athlete, just careless and uncaring.
I remember a Legion of Superheros story in which Superboy gets interested in a female applicant for membership whose power is invulnerability. It turns out that she’s one of his descendants and that that’s the only power that she inherited. And she looked like a young Lois Lane.
In the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie, he told Lois “I never lie.” He also had to lose his super-ness in the second movie in order to get it on with her.
It does seem to be, but the earlier poster mentioned neither the Legion angle or the limited inheritance of powers, so I didn’t make the connection. Haven’t read comics in years so I figured the character for a one-off.
